Water ski display rack



Jan. 5, 1965 w. N. BENNETT 3,164,256

WATER SKI DISPLAY RACK Filed July 23, 1962 WILLIAM N. BENNETT ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,164,256 WATER SKI DISPLAY RACK 7 William N. Bennett, Winter Haven, Fla., assignor to Cypress Gardens Skis, 'lnc., Cypress Gardens, Fla. Filed July 23, 1962, Ser. No. 211,749 1 Claim. (Cl. 211-60) This invention relates to the promotion and sale of commodities of various kinds and to equipment employed in the advantageous display of commodities to cause the public to be favorably impressed with and wish to purchase the same.

The invention relates specifically to the display and sale of water skis in a manner that they may be thoroughly observed and examined on all sides and in spaced relation to walls by propsective purchasers to present the advantages and to promote the desirability and ownership of such skis.

It has been customary to place skis against a wall with a number of other skis or articles in order to display such articles for observation and examination without handling the same with likelihood of injury to the skis and to the person, occasioned by contact of the skis being examined with other skis and with the hands of the person and the likelihood of the skis falling or striking someone. Further, placing of the skis side by side against a wall permitted only incomplete vision and occupied valuable display space and prevented the Wall area from being otherwise used which is undesirable especially when the display area is relatively small.

It is an object of the invention to provide a water ski display rack of simple and inexpensive construction by which skis may be supported in upright position in a single plane, or in back to back relation and in the latter back to back relation being capable of having such racks spaced at varying distances.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple use display rack which will promote neat appearance, protect and stop the merchandise from becoming shop worn, which can be adapted for a particular area, will use minimum space for maximum display, and which can be used as a single or multiple rack unit.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the rack of the present invention with duplicate sides back to back as a single display unit;

FIG. 2, an end elevation with the two portions of the rack more closely spaced;

FIG. 3, a perspective of the duplicate frames fastened together as a single length unit;

FIG. 4, an enlarged detail illustrating the corner construction; and

FIG. 5, a section on the line 5 of FIG. 2.

Briefly stated, the water ski display rack of the present invention is composed of duplicate frames constructed for disposition in upright side by side aligned relation in substantially a single plane, or they may be disposed back to back and fastened together in fixed relation so that they serve as a single rigid unit, the fastening means being capable of permitting them to be disposed in multiple spaced relations, the duplicate frames being substantially rectangular with the lower sides thereof having upwardly facing grooves in which the lower ends of skis are adapted to be received and with such skis supported in inclined position and resting against the upper side of the frame and with pegs in said upperside to maintain the upright skis in properly spaced relation.

With continued reference to the drawing, the water ski display rack of the present invention is composed of idenice tical uprights 10, a minimum of two of which are connected near their bottoms by a ski support 11 having upwardly facing grooves 12, and the upper ends of said uprights are connected by a transverse bar 13 against which the skis rest by the action of gravity. Skis 14 are adapted to be supported in inclined position on end with their lower extremities located in the upwardly facing grooves 12, and with their upper portions in engagement with the transverse bar 13 and supported against lateral movement by pegs 15 carried thereby. If desired, the support 11 may have a post 11' located substantially midway of its length to provide additional support. to the central area.

The bottom and upper ski supports 11 and 13 may be fastened to the uprights 10 by suitable screws or other fasteners 16 thus providing a generally rectangular frame and the rigidity of which is increased by means of gussets or corner blocks or braces 17 which may be fastened to the uprights 10 and supports 13 by means of screws or other fasteners 18.

Each of the uprights 10 is provided with a bar 19 pivotally connected to such upright by a pin 20. The bar 19 has an opening 21 adjacent to the pin 20 and an opening 22 (FIG. 3) in the remote end thereof. Each upright has an opening 23 adjacent to the pin 20, and opening 24 adjacent to the support 11, and and opening 25 intermediate the pin 20 and the transverse bar 13.

When a relatively wide double rack is desired as illustrated in FIG. 1, the bar 19 of one of the racks is placed on the outside of the upright 10 and pivoted upwardly to align the opening 22 of the bar with the opening 25 in the upright 10 of the second rack and is secured in place by passing a fastener 26 through the aligned openings. The bar 19 of the second rack is placed on the inside of the upright 10 and pivoted upwardly in the same manner and secured by a similar fastener 26 with the bars 19 in cross relation.

When a relatively narrow double rack is desired, the bars 19 are mounted in the same manner but are pivoted downwardly instead of upwardly to align the openings 22 of the bars with the openings 24 in the uprights 10 and are secured thereto by fasteners 26 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 3, the frames may be used independently or in side by side relation. This is accomplished by pivoting the bars 19 downwardly still further to align the openings 21 in the bars with the openings 23 in the uprights 10 and securing the same in place by fasteners 26. In this position, the remote or free end of the bars contact the floor and provide a brace for the rack. It is noted that the bars can be located on either the inside or outside of the uprights 10 when used as in FIG. 3. If desired, the frames may-be attached in side by side relation by aligning openings 24 or 25 in adjacent uprights and securing such uprights together by fasteners 26.

It is noted that a plurality of shelves or the like may be mounted between the uprights 10 and intermediate the support 11 and the bar 13 to provide a display rack for small articles. Likewise the pegs 15 may be of any convenient spacing to accommodate long slender articles such as fishing rods, lumber or the like.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a neat, relatively simple display rack is provided which may be arranged for a particular display in a particular area and requiring minimum space, presenting the most advantageous display so that the articles thereon will be shown in a manner to prevent becoming shopworn and otherwise to promote the sale of the product.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawings and described in thespecification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claim.

What, is claimed is:

A rack for the display of water skis, said rack comprising duplicate generally rectangular frames with each frame having opposed sides and ends, one side having an inwardly facing groove in which the ends of the supported skis can be received and the other side having spacingmeans for the skis, a member having one end portion pivotally connected to each end of each frame,

ieans whereby the opposite endof said member can be secured to the end of the duplicate frame with-the frames back to back, and means whereby said member can .be secured in fixed denending relation to provide a support to maintain one frame in inclined position independently inline with the other.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,002,128 5/35 Reidenbaugh 211-177 2,742,147 4/56 Ledel 40152.1 2,963,165 12/60 Steiner 2116O 2,978,270 4/61 Verhegg-en 211-41 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,020 9/91 Switzerland. 191,260 8/ 37 Switzerland.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner. 

